Discussions By Condition: Ears, Nose, Mouth & Throat conditions

Please help! Mucus/dark circles/bad breath...

Ok.. I need help!! I've been going through this for about ten years now. I am twenty three right now and this is destroying my life! Every morning I wake up w/serious dark circles around my eyes and very congested. I am also very irritable all the time. I have mood swings all the time. I have a hard time sitting still. Additionally, I am always tired.. I can never seem to get enough sleep. In the past few years these symptoms have all just gotten increasingly worse. I now have excessive phlem in the back of my throat. It has gotten so bad that I have to spit like every fifteen minutes. The phlem is very thick and sticky but its clear. Even worse is that I have terrible bad breath. It's extremely embarrassing. I brush, I floss, I use mouth wash.. I've been to the dentist several times and he says everything is fine. I've also been to the ENMT doctor and they told me this might be acid reflux. I was taking Prilosec for six months.. twice a day.. that didn't work... now I am on Nexium and this isn't working either.. I'm abt to give up completely... I still think these symptoms all have to do w/allergies... I've taken all those allergy pills Allegra, Allegra D, Clarinex, Claritin, Zantec, etc etc. Nothing works!! The most terrible part abt this whole thing is the bad breath... and excessive phlem. I am unable to maintain a job because I have to get up every fifteen minutes to spit out this mucus.. not to mention I can't speak to anyone because my bad breath just blows them away... Its awful... I just want to have a social life.. I want to be able to enjoy life... this is causing me a lot of depression... does anyone have any ideas on what I might have or what this might be?? I've tried eliminating all dairy and meats from my diet and that hasn't helped w/any of the phlem/mucus.. I've also given up coffee for a few weeks and that hasn't helped... Last week the doc put me on steriods... that also hasn't seemed to helped... I've tried all the nasal sprays, special diets, etc... all the doctors I go to seem to be playing a guessing game.. no one knows anything.... this problem is ruining my life... does anyone think its possible to have extremely bad breath w/phlem, post nasal drip, and dark circles.. and all of this could be related to just the allergies and not acid reflux or something worse?? I also have severe chest pain... its like i'm constantly gasping for air.. none of the docs can figure anything out. .they just keep giving me more meds.. .i cannot continue taking meds as i think these are all making the symptoms worse..this is year round.. these symptoms are just getting worse and worse as the years progress... i went to the allergist again today.. this time they gave me more zantec which i will not take because it does not help and they also gave me dipropionate hfa inhalation aerosol... she said something abt this could cause oral thrush.. anyone know anything abt this???

103 Replies:

Wow, this is exactly what my husband started a few weeks ago, and I last week. We spent 22 hrs in the ER with them running heart tests then saw three Dr.s in the next week and had an EGD. He has been told acid reflux also. The meds are not helping. We both feel like we have mucus " hanging" in the back of our throat, and we have difficulty swallowing. The mucus is hard to get out, but when we can, it is thick but clear. We live in the south....are you from the south too? We just wonder if this is enviromental or something. PS have you found any relief yet?

Hi, I think the problem of mucus, dark circles, bad breath, depression, sleeplessness, are all being caused by drinking COFFEE but you just won't admit it because you are so addicted that you have become like giant babies with pacifiers stuck in your mouth and you are going to squeal if they are taken out. There is nothing wrong with you people other than you refuse to accept the idea that coffee is making you sick! Believe me I know because I have done the same routine so many times, including getting an MRI for chest pains. It happens to me every year in the Fall because I start drinking more coffee because it's cold outside. About the breath thing, I had stuff stuck in my tonsils and my doctor told me to gargle with peroxide everyday. Rantidine and Guaifenesin cured my throat junk, and no coffee after morning hours has cured my sleep problem. Coffee is not good for you so stop drinking it!

I have a few unorthodox suggestions. All this started ten years ago. Did you start mensurating around about thirteen years of age? This could be partly hormone related, especially the moodiness, tiredness and lethargy.When I hit puberty at nine I was greeted with puffy bags under my eyes and dark rings (up till then I was a healthy strong kid). At age 12 varying degrees of lethargy developed and so did sinus troubles, and like you nothing changes the mucus, but my mucus is not as problematic. At 13 the periods hit and so did the most horrendous PMT for the next 17 years until I underwent gender reassignment and the testosterone hit the PMT on the head ( I know testosterone treatment is not an option as you aren’t transsexed). But anyway, you show very similar symptoms that I developed. I needed to be put on contraceptive pill on and off to help me maintain some form of sanity.Now the bad breath is probably a separate issue. I had bad breath, until I read somewhere that toothpaste can make it worse as it kills the natural bacteria in the mouth and causes an imbalance. So I experimented and only brushed my teeth with the toothbrush minus toothpaste. Within the week I no longer had bad breath and have never suffered from it since. I can go for days without brushing my teeth (but I don’t advise this as the tooth brush helps keep the gums healthy). I use witch hazel (not recommended for those with a drinking problem as it contains alcohol) or bicarb of soda every two or three days as they do of course need a good scrub. I also tried this on my quadriplegic friend whose breath smelt as though she had swallowed a dead rat and she has been free of the odour for several years now. If this doesn’t fix it you may have halitosis, a smelly little bacteria that can be fixed with some meds prescribed by a GP, but first they will test you for the bacteria to see if you have it.If you suffer acid reflux your stomach and blood may be a bit acidic, a teaspoon of bicarb disolved in water is a good remedy for this (it causes burping as the acid is nutralised and comes up as a burp). Just don’t drink too much of it (not that you would want to as it tastes awful :-) ) or you blood will become too alkaline. And sit up straight, sometimes reflux is caused from the stomach being squashed and causing bile to then travel up the oesophagus. Do you breathe through your mouth all the time? Breathe in and out your nose only. The nose hairs and mucus membrane are designed to catch dust and kill germs we breath in. Breathing directly into the lungs increases risk of allergy and picking up virus. At night try not to breath through mouth, but since this is near impossible to control while sleeping, put tape over your mouth (yes, it sounds daft, but it works and since you don’t have a beard like me you won’t have to worry about the pain when taking it off). My pilates instructor does this and he has noticed he sleeps a lot more sound, and has more energy in the morning and throughout the day and he has noticed that it has helped his sinus’ and the mucus stuff. It is a special breathing technique, which name escapes me at present, also used to help those with asthma. I do as much of the technique as possible, but I have Ehlers-Danlos Type III which is a genetic connective tissue disorder, so my sinus problems could be pretty much doomed!!! Well, I hope some of this is helpful. Agape,Searchingsam.

Join the club I am not as bad as you on the mucus. What I need to know is Do your joints hurt or are you strangely flexible?Does your jaw hurt?Do you get headaches a lot?Hit me at zeitgeist23@comcast.netHere is a comment for some of the less sympathetic people.If you don't sleep properly long enough it will break you. So if you can't help someone with this shut up.NO amount of coffee will keep you awake if you haven't slept in days. It's some other problem it's big it's bad and it needs to be handled.

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for anyone who has mucus, acid reflex, clears their throat all the time, also if you are having trouble swallowing please get it checked out. This could be cancer of the esophagus. Go to a Gasterologist and have them look down your thoat. If it goes unchecked the outcome is not good.

ignore both the rude guy who thinks it is !!!coffee!!! and the nut who doesn't brush his teeth and has been reassingned. All these symptoms ARE something, you just have to find a doctor competent enough to find out WHAT. SO many doctors are playing guessing games. Your life can be ruined, and what happens if you get so bad that you commit suicide!? FIND a specialist, go to other cities, do whatever you have to. 13 years is WAY too long, they are all related, it isn't only you, even though it may feel like it is. I am so sorry sweetheart, you can email me if you ever want to talk. I am close to your age, and I really don't give a ***t if you have bad breath. ammonia33@yahoo.com

The problem is not coffe because My son, daughter and I do not drink coffe. My son is 6 and daughter 2, My son has it so bad that if to much of the nasty stuff gets in to his stoamch he vomits untill its all gone also do you crave only one kinda of food. My kids have the same thing bad breath and alll that my son is seeing a GI dr and has had some test done and every thang is came back naggivte I am from the southern part too

Ok.. I need help!! I've been going through this for about ten years now. I am twenty three right now and this is destroying my life! Every morning I wake up w/serious dark circles around my eyes and very congested. I am also very irritable all the time. I have mood swings all the time. I have a hard time sitting still. Additionally, I am always tired.. I can never seem to get enough sleep. In the past few years these symptoms have all just gotten increasingly worse. I now have excessive phlem in the back of my throat. It has gotten so bad that I have to spit like every fifteen minutes. The phlem is very thick and sticky but its clear. Even worse is that I have terrible bad breath. It's extremely embarrassing. I brush, I floss, I use mouth wash.. I've been to the dentist several times and he says everything is fine. I've also been to the ENMT doctor and they told me this might be acid reflux. I was taking Prilosec for six months.. twice a day.. that didn't work... now I am on Nexium and this isn't working either.. I'm abt to give up completely... I still think these symptoms all have to do w/allergies... I've taken all those allergy pills Allegra, Allegra D, Clarinex, Claritin, Zantec, etc etc. Nothing works!! The most terrible part abt this whole thing is the bad breath... and excessive phlem. I am unable to maintain a job because I have to get up every fifteen minutes to spit out this mucus.. not to mention I can't speak to anyone because my bad breath just blows them away... Its awful... I just want to have a social life.. I want to be able to enjoy life... this is causing me a lot of depression... does anyone have any ideas on what I might have or what this might be?? I've tried eliminating all dairy and meats from my diet and that hasn't helped w/any of the phlem/mucus.. I've also given up coffee for a few weeks and that hasn't helped... Last week the doc put me on steriods... that also hasn't seemed to helped... I've tried all the nasal sprays, special diets, etc... all the doctors I go to seem to be playing a guessing game.. no one knows anything.... this problem is ruining my life... does anyone think its possible to have extremely bad breath w/phlem, post nasal drip, and dark circles.. and all of this could be related to just the allergies and not acid reflux or something worse?? I also have severe chest pain... its like i'm constantly gasping for air.. none of the docs can figure anything out. .they just keep giving me more meds.. .i cannot continue taking meds as i think these are all making the symptoms worse..this is year round.. these symptoms are just getting worse and worse as the years progress... i went to the allergist again today.. this time they gave me more zantec which i will not take because it does not help and they also gave me dipropionate hfa inhalation aerosol... she said something abt this could cause oral thrush.. anyone know anything abt this??? Oh, my god I can't believe I'm reading this-I've suffered with all of the above near my period and then the symptoms would go away, this was in my early twenties until 35. Now for the last 10 years, my breath is disgusting with a thick film on my gums and teeth and post nasal. I went to a ENT recently who put me on 4,000 mlgrms. of Augmentin a day-I could not be on for the 4-6 weeks because I developed a rash but one day I heard a pop in behind my nose and eyes and never breathed clearer. My sphenoid sinus was so clogged and I guess it unclogged.'' when I stopped the meds it's slowly coming back-but I have a pocket of odor when I lean forward or move my head left to right this bad taste and odor comes out and projects far! It's ruining my life as well. I know put saline in my nose with my head upside down laying on the bed and stay like that for 5 minutes. It has helped and cut the odor in half but this pocket is driving me insane and no one knows what I'm talking about-the dentist send me to ENT, ENt send me dentist, then to neurologist...I'm going in sane!

Oh, my god I can't believe I'm reading this-I've suffered with all of the above near my period and then the symptoms would go away, this was in my early twenties until 35. Now for the last 10 years, my breath is disgusting with a thick film on my gums and teeth and post nasal. I went to a ENT recently who put me on 4,000 mlgrms. of Augmentin a day-I could not be on for the 4-6 weeks because I developed a rash but one day I heard a pop in behind my nose and eyes and never breathed clearer. My sphenoid sinus was so clogged and I guess it unclogged.'' when I stopped the meds it's slowly coming back-but I have a pocket of odor when I lean forward or move my head left to right this bad taste and odor comes out and projects far! It's ruining my life as well. I know put saline in my nose with my head upside down laying on the bed and stay like that for 5 minutes. It has helped and cut the odor in half but this pocket is driving me insane and no one knows what I'm talking about-the dentist send me to ENT, ENt send me dentist, then to neurologist...I'm going in sane!

I Have Been Like This My Self For Three Years Ther Has Not Been A Day That I Have Not Been Clear Of Mucous And Head Ach Went To Ent Loads Of Times They Done Op On My Linning Of My Nose At The Top Did Nothing It Has Cause Me Alot Of Stress And Anxiety And All The Ugly Things That Go With Stress Does Any One Else Have Chest Tightness From The Mucous Going Ing Down There Thort I Also Have A Hitis Hernia As Well I Dont Know If The Two Thing Put To Together Is Making Me Feel So Ill The Mucous Is So Thick But Clear Or Frofey Clearing It From Thort Every Ten Mins I Pray To God It Will Go I Feel My Lfe Has Gone

Oh, my god I can't believe I'm reading this-I've suffered with all of the above near my period and then the symptoms would go away, this was in my early twenties until 35. Now for the last 10 years, my breath is disgusting with a thick film on my gums and teeth and post nasal. I went to a ENT recently who put me on 4,000 mlgrms. of Augmentin a day-I could not be on for the 4-6 weeks because I developed a rash but one day I heard a pop in behind my nose and eyes and never breathed clearer. My sphenoid sinus was so clogged and I guess it unclogged.'' when I stopped the meds it's slowly coming back-but I have a pocket of odor when I lean forward or move my head left to right this bad taste and odor comes out and projects far! It's ruining my life as well. I know put saline in my nose with my head upside down laying on the bed and stay like that for 5 minutes. It has helped and cut the odor in half but this pocket is driving me insane and no one knows what I'm talking about-the dentist send me to ENT, ENt send me dentist, then to neurologist...I'm going in sane!

my doctors thought I had acid reflux which was causing asthma. It was caused by sulfur dioxide in foods but mostly in the air from my job at a fast food restaurant while the bread was baking and perfumes I was exposed to. If i go any where now I have to shower washing my hair with an egg and apple cider vinegar and my body with Nutragina unscented soap, as soon as I get home. if I go to bed with anything scented in the room I wake up all puffed up and bags under my eyes and lots of mucus. the mucus in my throat, sinuses and lungs is so thick at times I can't swallow and coughing doesn't help until I drink something really hot and use my inhaler. my laundry has to be washed with nothing or vinegar only and washed twice if I go anywhere. everything new goes outside for a month or two before being in the house or worn. If you're worse in the morning think about what's in the room or what you use at night before going to bed or ate. bet someone told you to keep a journal it really helps, if you write everything down. How you feel, what you did, what you ate, what you smelled, what you can't stand, what you crave. everything you think or feel, your the only one reading it!when exposed to perfumes, deisel exhaust, detergents, cleaning products, I get exhausted yet a lot of the time I can't sleep. Just mincing a garlic gives me an asthma attack. there are many foods and cleaning products that have sulfites in them which all set me off. yellow #5, cabbage, broccoli that family and onion and pepper familys also.my 5(2 allegist) doctors didn't pay much attention till I ended up in the emergency room, unable to say more than one word at a time, if that, with out gasping for breath.my new allergist tested me for sulfur dioxide it was the happiest day of my life, even though I felt horrible. It explained a lot. get yours to test you or find a new doctor who knows about inhaled chemicals. I can tell you how to test yourself but don't think it's a good idea without being near a doctor and having someone else there. and can tell you how to find lots of info on sulfites if that is your trigger.hope this helps you feel better. redfoxran

could be one of two problems,or both.i think it is both.lungs produce clear mucus as you describe to wash out irritants.broadly speaking there are three kinds of irritants.1. environmental allergens.i do not think that is the problem here.-not in the case of the original enquiry anyway- 2. bacterial gunk from infected sinuses. 3. traces of acid reflux findingtheir way into the windpipe.all three will provoke the mucus you describe.so what to do?clear out the sinuses with several courses of high dose antibiotics.dont expect to get better yet!itwill take your lungs 3 or 4 months to recover from their sensitised state.figure out what is causing the reflux and get it fixed.(you must do this anyway to protect yourself from cancer of the oesophhagus.)you are a bit young but it may be worth checking for hiatus hernia.,this would explain the reflux and is fixable.in the meantime do not overfill your stomach,take care bending ,and prop up the head of your bed.these two causes account for the majority of chronic cough between them.it is likely that your sinuses are infecting because of an allergy so do not give upon the zirtek but you should also be taking zantac,to reduce acid.i dont know which one you are taking because you are confusing and conflating the spellings.easily done.the underlying problem here is that you are trying to solve two problems at once.you could solve one ,still have the other ,and think you had made no progress!(when in fact you would have made considerable progress.)then there is the time problem.it is going to be like playing darts without looking at the board for four months.but you must persevere.incidentally,i think it is sometimes the case that someone with lungs in the kind of hypersensitive state to which i have referred may aggravate the situation by drinking coffee ,and so the association is made.other people may,uncommonly,be sensitive to coffee as individuals.my personal "aggravator" is chocolate,but i do not think it is an underlying cause!it is always possible of course that only one of the two main culprits cited is responsible in your case.if that is so,then it is the reflux --which we know is happening. but if it was me and i had my druthers(a colonial term)i would go for the scattergun approach.make a copy of this and show it to your doctor.let us know how you get on.

Soungs just like me...have you gotten any relief or answers from any doctors? Mine all started when I got Whooping Cough in 2005. I can't seem to shake any of the symptoms you mentioned. Life can be miserable having to deal with such horrible symptoms.

Has anyone mentioned candida to you yet? Candida can cause all kinds of problems and is almost always a factor in chronic sinus problems... Please visit www.candidasupport.org and www.wholeapproach.com and read about candida. There is a great questionnaire you can take on the latter website. It might surprise you! Also, for all of those people suffering from allergies and sinus problems - please get a neti pot and use it every day! You can google this to get info, and find it at any health food store. Use NON-iodized salt. Do this at least once a day, preferably twice - just like brushing your teeth. I have suffered chronic sinus problems, but doing the neti pot as well as candida cleanse has really made a difference. Can't recommend it highly enough! Hope this helps you.Doctor of Oriental Medicine

Hi all,I have been reading your posts. I too suffered from many of the problems that you all have been complaning of. Due to a diagnosis of a family member I went on an exclusionary diet and found that a casein free and gluten free diet eliminated all bad breath and associated conditions. The diet is not easy but even small amounts of the proteins will produce the negative effects. I will not be preaching on the internet but I have found my solution after 15 years of searching... Good luck and hope it shines some light on your chronic problems... Finally, it's food allergies!!!

Whoever said this thing is somehow associated with the sphenoid sinus is dead right. I've had this for years and three ENT referrals and numerous visits to the GP later it's still plaguing me. Post-nasal drip, bad breath, pain in front of face and back of head, slight loss of hearing in one ear, small red flushes at the lower front of cheeks. One consultant gave me a fumbling endoscopy and told me I had developmental abnormalities (something facing the wrong way apparently), mentioned something about an operation site (never been operated on), covered up the screen at one point so that I couldn't see anything and then reported to the GP that he could see nothing wrong. Didn't look at the sphenoid sinuses, it was another GP a year ago who guessed what it could be and prescribed augmentin which took the acuteness out of the pain. Since then everything seems to fit and I'm trying to get the courage to go back and try again, having started to go dizzy and lose my balance. Living with the bad breath, which you're unaware of until you see other people's reactions is a nightmare. I gave up work and more or less stopped socialising. "Poor oral hygiene" you sometimes hear them mutter, while you're flossing like mad, scrubbing your teeth, tongue and gums raw and gargling with everything short of household bleach. I think the post-nasal drip gives a source of nutrients to bugs that colonise the inaccessible back of the throat and once they're established you're stuck with them. The sphenoid sinusitis page on the emedicine site suggests that surgery is often essential where medical treatment has failed.The only thing I haven't tried yet is repeated dilute TCP snorting through each nostril at a time so that you can feel it get to the back of the throat. Tried it once and it stung like ***l, but will try it again diluted for a week or two if the GP is no help.If it is any consolation, there are a few of us who understand that all the suggestions for alternative causes of the bad breath apart from sphenoid sinusitis are so much b***.